Atlantic Seaboard NCSY Taps Heideman

Moshe Heideman, 23, says giving teens proper space is a key to successful recruitment and engagement. He recently joined his fiance, Shira Beleck, on the NCSY leadership team.

Rabbi Jonah Lerner, the regional director of Atlantic Seaboard NCSY, said that he’s customarily very picky when evaluating job applicants.

However, when the position of Baltimore chapter advisor opened up, Rabbi Lerner already had an ideal candidate waiting in the wings. In late June, NCSY named Moshe Heideman, 23, to the position.

“He’s very confident and very organized and always looks to the future,” said Rabbi Lerner of Heideman, an Edison, N.J., native. “He’s always looking at what he can do better, how the program can do better and how we can inspire the teens to see our vision and reach for higher goals.”

Heideman’s core responsibilities are directing and implementing local programming, integrating Baltimore’s chapter into regional programming and spearheading teen recruitment in the area.

Having been active in New England NCSY as a teen, Heideman’s passion for the youth organization is practically overflowing. He acknowledges that although there are other jobs that garner more money and higher prestige, his role enables him to feel rewarded on a daily basis.

“You see kids maturing, you see them latching on to mentors and you see them accomplishing things and overcoming challenges,” Heideman said. “That is the most meaningful type of inspiration. … The end goal is, where do I want to see a kid in four years? And, what can I do in this minute to help him take a baby step toward that point.”

He said he works to build trust with his students.

“People with super passion and drive to change people sometimes go at it little too fast,” he said.

After starting his college career at Yeshiva University, Heideman transferred to University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he is set to complete his English degree next spring. Following the move, he became active in Baltimore NCSY where he met his soon-to-be wife, Shira Beleck, NCSY Atlantic Seaboard’s regional board advisor.